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As mentioned in my previous post, the planning profession in the mid-20th century was not aware of some of the negative consequences of its zoning practices. Single-family housing was assumed to be the norm for most people, and there was little thought given to the consequences of zoning the majority of the land area in most cities exclusively for that use. Over the past few decades, however, the planning community has increasingly recognized that there are several major problems with this practice. Not only was suburbia a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore climate change, but it was both economically and racially discriminatory.

Oregon is in the forefront of efforts to address these discriminatory effects. House Bill 2001, which the Legislature passed last year, mandates that the Portland-metro area and other large cities change their zoning ordinances to allow up to four residential units on lots previously zoned for single-family use. While clearly not the whole answer, the net effect over time will be that smaller, more affordable residences will be built in these neighborhoods. To more proactively address racial discrimination Oregon will need to also significantly upgrade its enforcement of fair housing laws throughout the state.

The city of Portland is on track to this spring adopt its , which will implement HB 2001. This new modification to the zoning code has been four years in the making and received extensive hearings and comment periods. While allowing up to four units, the amount of total square footage developed would be dramatically reduced from about 6,500 square feet to 4,500 square feet on a 5,000-square-foot lot. This change will allow construction of much smaller units while encouraging new building forms that fit within the character of the neighborhood.